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It had been an especially long and boring day at school, yet I consoled myself with the knowledge that it was nearly over. I was sitting in my desk, waiting for the final class to start, knowing that I only had one more hour to go until I was free for the day…for the week. After all, it was Friday afternoon.

Normally, I liked to pop open my Kindle and do a little reading between classes, but this was Ms. Lindrell’s class, and if she saw me doing that, I had no doubt that she’d find an excuse to call on me. Because of that, I opened up my history book and glanced through the reading material from last night, wanting to be ready for when she tried to single me out for embarrassment.

After glancing over the rest of my homework, I looked across the room to where Julie sat at her own desk. I frowned slightly, remembering how she’d been a bit distant to me all day, which worried me after what we’d talked about on the way home last night. There was a look of determination in her eyes as well, so I knew that she’d made her decision about accepting that opportunity. I felt a surge of jealousy and regretting talking her into it, but I tried to quash those emotions and feel happy for her instead. However, I knew that I was going to talk to her about it again after school, and hopefully, this time I’d be able to get some more details.

Ms. Lindrell finally came into the classroom after all the students had already arrived. Without a word, she went to the front of the class and looked around, her firm gaze stopping only twice…once on Julie…and once on me. “Homework,” she said simply and everyone began passing their work sheets to the front of the room. Then once everyone had turned in their homework, she immediately looked right at me and said, “Michael… Please describe for the class…”

I spent the next five minutes answering a series of questions about last night’s reading assignment, along with a few about things that we hadn’t even covered yet. Because of that, I’d only gotten about half her questions right, and by the time I sat down, I wanted to duck under my desk out of embarrassment.

“Hey Mike,” the guy next to me whispered. “What did you do to piss her off?”

“I have no idea,” I answered miserably, though the truth was, I was pretty sure it had something to do with her interest in Julie and in Julie’s mysterious opportunity.

Normally, Ms. Lindrell would only call me out like that once during class, and not quite that badly. However, she was in a real mood today because she called me out twice more, though thankfully not quite as badly. She didn’t even bother to correct anyone’s homework, and for the rest of class, she kept alternating between glancing at Julie and actually staring at me with an odd look. Normally, getting so much attention from a beautiful woman might be a good thing, but this was downright creepy.

When class was over, I went to join up with Julie, but Ms. Lindrell told her, “Julie, I need to talk with about…what we’ve been discussing.”

“Of course,” Julie told her with an oddly serious expression. Then she turned to me and smiled, but it seemed a bit nervous and forced.

“What’s going on?” I asked Julie, hoping that she’d tell me more than she had yesterday.

Julie just gave me a hug and said, “Everything is fine…” Then she pulled away and looked me in the eyes with an odd expression on her face, one that set off the warning bells in my head. After a moment, her expression turned a little darker. “I’ve got something to do here, so go on and I’ll catch up later. I’ll tell you everything then.”

I stared at Julie for a moment before nodding my reluctance acceptance. “Okay, just be careful.”

With that, I grabbed my book bag and slung it over my shoulder, then glanced back at Julie again before leaving. I went out to the front of the school, but I didn’t climb onto the bus the way I usually would have. Instead, I leaned up against a light post and waited for Julie to come out. The way she kept acting all mysterious and secretive was really making me increasingly worried, not to mention curious. I wanted to know what was really going on, and when Julie was finished with Ms. Lindrell, I was going to hold her to her promise. However, when our bus finally drove away from the school, neither of us was on it.

I waited for a little longer, feeling impatient and frustrated. I told myself that I was just staying to make sure that Julie was all right and that she got home safely, but I was actually a little worried that I might come off as some kind of stalker. Eventually though, I decided that I’d waited long enough and went back into the school to find Julie.

I went back towards Ms. Lindrell’s classroom, then paused outside the door when I heard voices from within. “I’m glad that you’ve finally accepted,” Ms. Lindrell said, sounding pleased. “Staying here this long has been quite dangerous and I couldn’t have risked staying any longer.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make,” Julie admitted. “I mean, this is absolutely amazing, but… Everything I have to leave behind… Everyone…”

“It isn’t easy,” Lindrell agreed, her voice sounding sympathetic. “It never is. But you’ll make new friends, have a worthy purpose, and you’ll see and do things you can only imagine. In the end, I promise that this will be worth it…”

I winced as I listened in, those words confirming my suspicions about Ms. Lindrell being involved in whatever was going on with Julie. I was burning with curiosity and wanted to listen more, but I didn’t. I felt too much of a stalker as it was, so I turned and slowly walked away from the door. Julie seemed to be fine at the moment, but it was obvious that she was holding back even more than I’d thought. She didn’t trust me. It hurt to realize that after as long as we’d been friends, and with as close as I’d thought we were…she didn’t trust me.

“It looks like I’m going to be walking home alone,” I muttered bitterly, heading back towards the school exit for the second time. This time, nearly everyone else was already gone so the halls were almost entirely empty.

I was about halfway back to the front entrance when I suddenly heard a loud scream from somewhere ahead of me. I jumped in surprise but didn’t see anything, at least not at first. Then one of the teachers, Mrs. Clarence, came running out of a side hallway, letting out another scream. I only had a moment to wonder what was going on when something else burst out of the hallway behind her, something large and utterly impossible. And as I watched in shock, the massive creature pounced and left a splatter of blood and shattered human remains where the teacher had been.

“Holy shit,” I gasped, too shocked and horrified to even move.

The creature had four legs and was shaped something like a wolf or mountain lion, though it was obviously neither of those animals…or anything else that I’d ever seen. It stood about four feet at the shoulders, and instead of fur, it was covered with dark red scales. A long thin tail stretched out behind the creature, waving back and forth. My eyes were drawn to the tip of the tail, which had an odd bony shape that reminded me something of a blade. And then the creature turned, giving me a good look at its head…along with the mouth full of sharp teeth that were dripping with fresh blood.

Even though every instinct screamed at me to run, I still found myself frozen, unable to take my eyes off this monster. It was like something right out of a movie…or one of the books I liked to read. A voice in the back of my mind provided a name for this creature. Hellhound. This thing was just like a hellhound from one of my stories, and even if that wasn’t what it really was, it certainly looked like it deserved the name anyway.

A moment later, the creature…the hellhound turned the rest of the way and looked directly at me. It let out an eerie sound which seemed to be half howl and half hiss, and which sent chills all down my spine. Then as it started moving towards me, my brain was finally able to engage my muscles so I turned and ran. I ran as fast as I could, but even from that glimpse I’d seen of it pouncing on Mrs. Clarence, I knew that I didn’t have a chance of outrunning it.

Then, almost as if to prove just how much God hated me, another figure stepped out of a classroom and blocked the hallway in front of me. The figure was holding a massive double bladed axe that had to be five feet long from tip to top. It wasn’t the kind of axe that a lumberjack might use, but the kind I could easily have imagined a barbarian like Conan wielding into battle. But what surprised me even more than seeing such a weapon in the middle of school was the fact that it was being held by Ms. Lindrell.

I stopped running, seeing that I was trapped between a rock and a hard place…or between a monster and a psychotic teacher with an axe. I knew that Ms. Lindrell didn’t like me, but I never would have imagined that she hated me enough to come after me with an axe.

“Michael,” Ms. Lindrell exclaimed, looking surprised. “Get behind me…”

Ms. Lindrell charged almost straight at me, and then continued right on past, hitting the hellhound with the massive axe just as it was about to leap at me. I snapped around and saw the teacher slam the monster with the flat of her blade, knocking it back and into the lockers. Then I regained my senses and started to run again, only to see Julie crouched down in the doorway Ms. Lindrell had come out of, watching the fight with a look of simultaneous excitement and fear.

“Mike,” Julie gasped, grabbing me and pulling me into the classroom with her. She stared at me with an expression that seemed to be equal parts surprise and worry. “What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you,” I admitted, poking my head out through the doorframe to watch Ms. Lindrell. “Then that thing showed up…”

The hellhound hit Ms. Lindrell with its claws and she was sent flying back, leaving a trail of blood as she slid across the floor. However, as soon as she came to a stop, she was right back on her feet, charging at the monster with her axe as though she hadn’t even been injured. All I could do was watch in stunned disbelief, feeling like I’d suddenly stepped into one of my books. Admittedly, seeing this kind of thing for real was a LOT scarier than reading about it.

“This can’t be happening,” I gasped, sure that I had to be imagining this whole thing. Dad must be right…I’ve spent too much time reading comics watching TV so now it’s rotted my brain.

When the hellhound lunged at Ms. Lindrell, she used her axe to block its claws, though it snapped at her with its jaws a moment later. She kept swinging her axe, hitting it and seeming to cause it pain and injury, but the monster just kept coming. Then she suddenly dropped to her knee, slamming the base of the axe against the ground. There was a flash of light from the axe, and ice began to form around it and spread across the floor. A few seconds later, the hellhound tried to leap at Ms. Lindrell again, only to have its feet slip right out from beneath it.

“Now I have you,” Ms. Lindrell exclaimed, launching herself at the monster again and driving her axe right into its head. The creature collapsed to the ground, spasming several times before it finally stopped moving. As she backed away from the monster’s body, I saw that its entire head was coated in frost and ice crystals.

“That was amazing,” Julie exclaimed, stepping into the hallway for a better look.

“That was insane,” I gasped, trying to make sense of what I’d just seen.

Ms. Lindrell stood there with the massive axe in hand, wearing torn and bloody clothes, and she was acting as though that was all perfectly normal. She stared at me with an odd expression and actually sounded worried as she asked, “Are you all right, Michael?”

“I…I think so,” I answered, tempted to add that I might have a head injury that was making me see things. Then I gulped and demanded, “What the hell was that thing?”

“A daemon,” Ms. Lindrell answered grimly. “We need to get out of here.”

“That was even scarier than I thought they’d be,” Julie said, making me look at her in surprise.

“We need to get out of here,” Ms. Lindrell repeated firmly. “Now.”

Before I could demand to know what was going on, Ms. Lindrell was walking down the hallway, gesturing for us to follow. Since she’d just saved my life from that hellhound…that daemon…I no longer thought she was going to kill me. In fact, I was pretty sure that if there were any more of those things around, she’d probably have to save me and Julie again.

Then, as if responding to my thoughts, I heard another of those hissing roars like what the creature had made. That was all the warning we had before a second daemon came tearing around a corner and charged straight at us.

Ms. Lindrell snarled something in another language. I had absolutely no idea what language that was, but I recognized profanity when I heard it. She ran towards the daemon, slashing at it with the axe, which she was swinging around as though it weighed nothing at all. If I hadn’t been ready to shit my pants, I probably would have appreciated the sight a little more.

The daemon slashed at Ms. Lindrell, then swung around, catching her with its tail which sliced right across her stomach. She grunted, and lowered the axe for a moment and the creature snapped at her with its jaws. However, she raised the axe quickly enough to block the bite. It shook its head, then clawed at her again. And though she blocked the slash, the force sent her sliding down the hallway.

“Come on,” I told Julie, knowing that from what I’d seen, Ms. Lindrell could probably take care of the monster. However, I didn’t want to be any closer to it than absolutely necessary.

Just as we were starting to run again, the daemon snarled and leapt straight at Julie. Without even thinking about it, I threw myself at her as well, shoving her to the side a moment before the daemon struck. My entire body exploded in pain before I even hit the floor.

“MIKE,” Julie cried out in horror.

“NO,” Ms. Lindrell yelled, throwing herself at the daemon just as it was about to bite off my head. An instant later, its own head went flying.

I was spread out on the floor, hurting like hell from the waist up. However, from the waist down, I couldn’t feel a thing. I had a bad feeling about that…a REAL bad feeling. I gasped for breath, having a hard time getting enough air.

“Oh God, Mike,” Julie exclaimed, dropping down beside me and crying.

I grimaced, trying my hardest just to avoid screaming in pain. I was scared…terrified, and since I couldn’t feel anything beneath that massive ball of agony in my mid-section, I had no idea if I’d shit myself or not.

Ms. Lindrell spat out a furious stream of profanities in another language, then snarled, “The summoner…”

“Oh no,” Julie gasped, jumping back to her feet and staring at something down the hallway. Then after a moment, she cautiously said, “He doesn’t look so dangerous…”

I turned my head, which was about the only part of me I could really move at the moment. It hurt to move even this much and it took a lot more effort than it should. However, I was able to see down the hallway, where a man in a tattered crimson cloak was standing.

I couldn’t make out much about the man because his features were covered with the cloak, but he was holding his hands out and the air in front of him was glowing. I had no idea of what he was doing, but I knew with absolute certainty that it wasn’t anything good.

“He’s trying to summon another daemon,” Ms. Lindrell snarled furiously right before she threw the axe. It flew through the air, slamming right into the cloaked man, who dropped to the ground in a spray of blood.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” Julie cried out frantically, looking back as though she was about to start screaming. She finally settled her attention on me again. “Oh Mike… I’m so sorry…”

Ms. Lindrell surprised me by crouching down beside me as well, taking my hand, and then staring at me with a grim look. In class, she’d always singled me out and acted like she hated me, but she’d just saved my life…if only for a few minutes. And when I looked into her eyes, all I saw was sadness.

“Michael,” Ms. Lindrell said, her voice shaking just a little. “I can save your life…”

“You can?” Julie blurted hopefully. “Then do it…”

Ms. Lindrell ignored her and continued looking at me. “You’re dying, Michael,” she told me in a gentle tone. “I can save your life but…I need your permission…”

“Do it,” Julie pleaded as tears ran down her cheeks. “Please save him…”

“It will mean changing you,” Ms. Lindrell stated with a grim expression, reaching out and touching my cheek. She held my face so that I continued looking up at her when my head wanted to flop to the side. “You will become someone else…but you will live. One way or another, the life you know ends now. However…I can give you a new one…if you accept.”

It was hard to breath…hard to think…hard to focus. I gasped for breath, having a hard time getting what she was saying or what she meant. However, I understood that she was offering a choice between living and dying.

For a moment, I struggled just to remember how to speak. Everything was so foggy and fading fast. I stared up into Ms. Lindrell’s crystal blue eyes though, using them as the anchor I needed to focus. Then with a great deal of effort, I whispered, “Yes…”

Ms. Lindrell gave me a sad smile and said, “Then let it be done.”

She held up her hand, which was beginning to glow with an eerie golden aura. And after holding it there for a second, she brought it down onto my chest. A surge of energy burned into me, going straight into my heart, which felt like it was about to explode. Suddenly, the energy shot through my entire body, riding my veins and nerves. I would have screamed if I’d been able, so instead, I just lost consciousness.